Cal Poly Baseball sweeps Davis, moves to 3-0 in conference

Reed Reilly pitched the final 5 2/3 innings to earn Big West Pitcher of the Week Honors. By Owen Main

I spent four days in the Cactus League sun last week with not one single palpable sunburn. On Saturday ernoon aftat Baggett Stadium on the Cal Poly campus, I had no such luck. Perhaps I should blame the creature comforts of Krukow’s Klubhouse. But my irritated lower legs weren’t the only things that got hot — Cal Poly baseball continued its strong start to the season, winning a 13-inning thriller 6-5 to sweep the weekend series from visiting UC Davis.

With the breeze blowing in and the sun shining on the Saturday before Easter, the two teams combined for 29 runners left on base. Despite their lack of timely hitting, Cal Poly managed a 5-2 lead going into the 8th inning, but Davis managed two runs in the 8th inning and one in the 9th to tie the game.

Reed Reilly, normally the team’s closer, pitched the final 5 2/3 innings for the Mustangs, earning the win. Combined with his three-inning save on Thursday  night, Reilly’s performance earned him Big West Pitcher of the Week honors. Senior second-baseman Denver Chavez went 3-6 and scored two runs in the game. Chavez’ most important play, though, was probably when he made a diving catch of a line-drive with a runner on third base to save a run in extra innings.

Room to grow:

Cal Poly will be glad to have swept their first series of the Big West Conference season, but coach Larry Lee will definitely have some things for his team to keep working on.

At least two players running from first to second base failed to pick up Lee, who is also the third base coach, and take advantage of opportunities to go from first to third base. The Mustangs also failed to get a bunt down or just put the ball in-play in some key situations.

The view from Baggett Stadium during an afternoon game is spectacular. By Owen Main

Even with some of these mistakes, Cal Poly found a way to win the game and sweep the series. For Mustang fans and for the team’s chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid, that should be really encouraging as the Big West season rolls on.

For now, Lee’s team moved to between 17 and 21 in national polls after the sweep.

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